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President Obama’s nomination for second in command at the Department of Homeland Security fended off allegations Thursday that he helped Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s brother get a special visa for foreign investors, The Los Angeles Times reports.

The nomination of Alejandro Mayorkas is important because he could become the temporary replacement for Janet Napolitano, who plans to leave in September for another job.

The department’s inspector general is trying to determine whether Mayorkas abused his position by helping Gulf Coast Funds Management, run by Anthony Rodham, get a visa visa for a Chinese investor who was twice denied a visa.

“I have never in my career used undue influence to influence the outcome of a case,” Alejandro Mayorkas, the head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, told a Senate panel considering his nomination, The LA Times wrote.